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The person who bought the bowl clearly knew it was worth far more than $35. For every person who finds a fortune, remember some poor bastard lost a fortune.
If I was the buyer, I'd probably feel too guilty and go back and give them $100k or so, just so they don't commit suicide!
"An exceptionally rare 15th-century Chinese antique that wound up at a yard sale has sold for $721,800 at auction by Sotheby's, exceeding its top estimated sale price of half a million dollars.
Bought for just $35 near New Haven, Connecticut, last year, the small blue-and-white floral bowl is now worth nearly 29,000 times that price. It features motifs of lotus, peony, chrysanthemum and pomegranate blossoms, and was originally commissioned by China's imperial court during the Ming dynasty.
While Sotheby's is not disclosing the seller's identity, the head of its Chinese art department, Angela McAteer, revealed in a phone interview ahead of the sale that the man who found the bowl at the yard sale "didn't haggle over the $35 asking price."
If I was the buyer, I'd probably feel too guilty and go back and give them $100k or so, just so they don't commit suicide!
"An exceptionally rare 15th-century Chinese antique that wound up at a yard sale has sold for $721,800 at auction by Sotheby's, exceeding its top estimated sale price of half a million dollars.
Bought for just $35 near New Haven, Connecticut, last year, the small blue-and-white floral bowl is now worth nearly 29,000 times that price. It features motifs of lotus, peony, chrysanthemum and pomegranate blossoms, and was originally commissioned by China's imperial court during the Ming dynasty.
While Sotheby's is not disclosing the seller's identity, the head of its Chinese art department, Angela McAteer, revealed in a phone interview ahead of the sale that the man who found the bowl at the yard sale "didn't haggle over the $35 asking price."
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